HERE WE GO! 2025 Team Welcome

Allison Koger

Hi Sharks Families,

Yay!  It’s summer swim team time!  To start the season, we wanted to share some information with you . . .

Coach update

  • Welcome back to Coaches Qi, Nico, and Teddy!  We’re excited to have you all back!

Practice

  • The first day of practice is Tuesday, May 27th, 2025 (pending weather): 
  • Practice schedule (Monday through Friday) - finalized
    • 6:45 am – 7:45 am:  Ages 13 years and over
    • 7:45 am – 8:30 am:  Ages 11-12 years
    • 8:30 am – 9:00 am:  Ages 9-10 years
    • 9:00 am – 9:30 am:  Ages 8 years and under
    • There will be NO night practices this summer.
    • The number of swimmers in each age group was the key factor in setting this schedule.  A well-balanced number of swimmers allows swimmers to optimize the use of space/lanes and allows coaches to provide more attention and instruction to swimmers.  If you have a conflict with your swimmer’s time and have not reached out to us yet to discuss, please do so asap. 

First day/Practice Reminders

  • On the first day of practice, swimmers will meet the coaches on the pool deck at the deep end of the pool near the diving boards.  Swimmers will then be directed to their lanes.  Unless moved by a coach, please encourage your swimmer to swim in that same lane at each practice. 
  • For all practices, please make sure your swimmer has goggles, and a towel, plus long hair is tied up or in a swim cap. 
  • Please make sure your swimmer is on time and ready to get in the water (and has used the restroom before practice if needed). We only have a limited time each day at practice and want to make sure they're in the pool as much as possible.

Fun meet

  • We are having a Shrewsbury Intrasquad Fun Meet on Saturday, June 7th at 8:00 am!  Warm ups will begin at 7:30 am. 
  • Swimmer and volunteer sign ups for our fun meet will open on the website on Wednesday, May 28th at 7:00 am.
  • The fun meet is an opportunity for our swimmers to race before our first meet and have fun with their teammates!  The fun meet will also help newer swimmers experience a meet prior to their first competition.  Participation is optional, but we hope to see all of our swimmers there. 
  • The event will be very similar to a dual meet, with a few exceptions.  There will be no individual medleys (IMs), no officials, no DQs, and no ribbons.  To save time, we will try to combine events as much as possible, but within reason. 
  • Swimmers may sign up for a max of 3 individual events (no IMs).  The deadline to sign up for this fun meet is Tuesday, June 3rd.  This is all completed under the Meet Commit tab on the website.  For any swimmer that does not complete this task by the deadline, it will be assumed that they will not be present at the meet.  Please do not sign up for an IM.
  • There will be relays at the fun meet.  Relay teams will be created by the coaches.  If you swimmer cannot or does not want to swim in a relay, please share that with us by commenting in the notes section.  Otherwise, it will be assumed that swimmers attending the meet are available and willing to participate in a relay.
  • We will need many volunteers to make this happen!  A volunteer shift during the fun meet counts as 1 of the 2 required dual meet shifts.
  • Snacks:  We would like to offer snacks and drinks to our swimmers at the meet.  A sign up will be coming soon. Participation is optional.  

Meet volunteer job positions

  • Sign ups for our 5 dual meets will open on the website at a later date.  We will provide notice in advance of the opening of sign ups for volunteers.
  • Each family is committed to working 2 shifts during the dual meets and/or fun meet.
  • Signs ups for prelims and finals will come later in the season.  Each family participating in prelims and finals is committed to working prelims and finals. 
  • Volunteer job descriptions can be found on the website at Forms, Docs, & How-to > Volunteer Job Documents > Volunteer Job Descriptions.  This information was also shared at the parent meeting.
  • Volunteer Job Sign Ups can be found on the website at Meet Commit.  Find meet, then click on Job Signup.

Swim shirts and caps and spirit wear

  • Each swimmer will receive 1 Sharks swim team cap as part of their registration fee.  Caps will be distributed at the fun meet.  If you are unable to attend the fun meet, we will also have them at practices during the week of June 2nd. 
  • Our optional Sharks spirit store is in the process of being developed.  Once the store is ready for ordering, we will share more details.

Stroke clinics

  • We are working to hold a few evening stroke clinics.  When we have more information to share, we will let you know.

Communication information

  • Shrewsbury Sharks website (https://www.gomotionapp.com/team/recstlss/page/home):  We will be utilizing the website as our primary means of communication.  The website has been updated and houses a lot of good information.    Families can reference those items as needed.  There is a quick guide to the site to help families locate information.  Once logged in, the guide can be found on the website under Forms, Docs, How-to > Guide to Website.
  • Emails:  There will be emails, but we will reference items on the website for more details.
  • Texts:  For more urgent messages, such as the practice changes due to weather, we will be sending text messages through the website. 
    • All practices and meets are on unless you hear otherwise from us.
  • In order enable these messages, users must verify their emails and cell phone numbers.  If you have not already done so and wish to receive these messages, please be sure to complete the verification step.  If you would like to enable push notifications through the OnDeck app, please enable this through your device.  If you have any problems, let us know.

Questions

  • Generally, one or both of us will be at most practices.  If you have any questions, come chat with us or reach out via email at the addresses below.  Do not hesitate to reach out to us with any questions throughout the season. 
  • For any questions regarding registration, please contact Allison Koger at [email protected]. 

We are so excited for summer with the Shrewsbury Sharks!  We are looking forward to seeing you all at the pool!  Go Sharks!

Parent Reps

Mandy Chadduck & Alexandria Wilson